Allocation of Parental Responsibilities
Filing a Petition
A petition for allocation of parental responsibilities for children may be an appropriate motion if the parents were never married. Furthermore, primary caregivers for the child, who include relatives or non-relatives, may consider filing a petition for allocation of parental responsibilities if it would be in the best interests of the child.
The pros and cons of filing a motion with the court should be weighed carefully. Upon initiating a case by filing a petition for allocation of parental responsibilities, the court will typically send out a case management order, which contains important deadlines. Furthermore, the court will often require mediation to minimize the conflict; however, if the parties do not agree then the contested matters will need to be resolved by the court.
In some cases, often upon the request of a party or parties, the court may appoint a Child and Family Investigator ("CFI") or Parental Responsibility Evaluator ("PRE"). A Child and Family Investigator ("CFI") or Parental Responsibility Evaluator ("PRE"), upon completion of an investigation, submits a report to the court with recommendations.
- Sole or joint decision-making capabilities; such as, medical, educational, and religous decision-making
- Primary custodian
- Parenting time